Apparatus for inserting seals in pavement grooves

ABSTRACT

THIS DISCLOSURE RELATES TO APPARATUS FOR ACCURATELY INSERTING ELASTOMERIC SEALING MATERIAL IN STRIP FORM INTO PAVEMENT GROOVES FOR THE PURPOSE OF FORMING TIGHT SEALS BETWEEN ADJACENT SLABS OF PAVEMENT TO EXCLUDE FOREIGN MATERIAL FROM THE GROOVES AND INCLUDING A PAIR OF ROTARY COMPRESSION DISKS ARRANGED AT AN ANGLE TO EACH OTHER AND WHICH COMPRESS THE SEALING MATERIAL LATERALLY THEREOF   WHILE ABOVE THE GROOVE, AND AN INSERTING WHEEL WHICH MOVES THE SEALING MATERIAL FROM THE COMPRESSION DISKS INTO THE GROOVE.

APPARATUS PoR INSERTING SEALs IN PAVEMENT GRoovEs Filed June 9, 1969 SPt- 23 1971 J. F. sHARPE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS'.

Sept. 28, 1971 J- F. SHARPE APPARATUS FOR INSERTING SEALS IN PAVEMENT GROOVES Filed June 9. l1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IzVENTOR.

M f al gm AT T ORNE.' YS.

SGP- 28, 1971 J. F, sHARPE 3,608,445

APPARATUS FOR INSERTING SEALS IN PAVEMENT GROOVES Filed June 9', 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 8 ATTPNEYS.

Sept. 28, 1971 J. F. sHARPE 3,608,445

' AAPPAmsrus FOR INSERTING SEALs 1N PAVEMENT GRoovEs Filed June 9. 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent O 3,608,445 APPARATUS FOR INSERTING SEALS IN PAVEMENT GROOVES Jantes F. Sharpe, Buffalo, N.Y., assguor to Acme Highway Products Corporation, Buffalo, N.Y. Filed June 9, 1969, Ser. No. 831,621 Int. Cl. E01c 23/09 U.S. Cl. 94-39 8 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to apparatus for accurately inserting elastomeric sealing material in strip form into pavement grooves for the purpose of forming tight seals between adjacent slabs of pavement to exclude foreign material from the grooves and including a pair of rotary compression disks arranged at an angle to each other and which compress the sealing material laterally thereof While above the groove, and an inserting wheel which moves the sealing material from the compression disks into the groove.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide apparatus of this type with a pair of compression disks mounted in angular relation to each other and driven from a single shaft.

Another object is to provide apparatus of this type with three ground wheels, one of said ground wheels supporting the apparatus when being lifted over the edge of the pavement and the other ground wheels supporting the apparatus while on the pavement in correct relation to the grooves.

A further object is to provide improved means for guiding the sealing material from a reel on which it is wound to a groove.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional elevation thereof on an enlarged scale on line 3 3, F IG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof on line 4 4, FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional elevation thereof on line 5 5, FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 6 6, FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic View showing the meshing of two teeth of the gears which propel the compression disks.

The frame of the apparatus may be of any suitable construction, that shown including a substantially horizontal web or plate 10 and longitudinally and downwardly extending flanges 11 at opposite sides thereof, welded or otherwise secured to the plate 10. A transversely extending upright plate 12 is secured to the frame below the web or plate 10 to support parts of the mechanism. The web or plate 10 is provided with an opening or hole 13 therein through which part of the apparatus mounted on a removable plate 14 extends.

The apparatus is mounted on two sets of ground wheels formed to ride on the pavement, one set of ground wheels 15 being mounted on an axle 17 suitably journalled on the frame of the apparatus and normally riding on the pavement during the insertion of the material into a pavement groove.

The apparatus includes suitable power means, such as an engine 25 mounted on the apparatus. The engine shaft drives a sprocket chain 27 supplying power to an air compressor 26, the shaft which drives a sprocket chain 28 which extends downwardly through a hole in the ICC plate, and has a suitable connection through a shaft 29 with a worm gear or helical gear 30 which is mounted to rotate about the axle 17. Power may be transmitted from the gear 30 to the axle 17 through a clutch 32, a part of which is rotated lby the gear 30, and the other part 33 which is mounted on the axle 17 has a splined connection with the axle 17. A clutch lever 35 having a transversely extending bar 36 is pivoted on the frame of the apparatus, to shift the clutch member 33 lengthwise of the axle 17 into and out of engagement with the other clutch member mounted on the gear 30. The clutch lever 36 preferably has an upwardly extending part which facilitates the shifting of this lever. Consequently, when the two clutch members are in engagement, rotation will be transmitted from the gear 30 to the axle 17 of the ground wheels 15.

The axle 17 is connected by means of a sprocket chain 37 with a drive shaft 38 suitably journalled on the frame by means of bearings 39.

In addition to the ground wheels 15, the apparatus is also provided at the front end thereof with a ground wheel 40 journalled on the support 41 which may be adjusted relatively to the body of the apparatus in any suitable manner, for example, the support 41 may be pivoted at the end at 42 on a fixed part of the frame and may be adjusted vertically relatively to the frame of the apparatus in any suitable manner, as by means of an adjusting screw 43 connecting the support 41 with a part of the frame of the apparatus. The apparatus is also provided With a guide wheel 45 which lits into a groove 46 of the pavement into which the sealing member is to be inserted. This guide wheel may be mounted on a bearing support 48 which is also mounted on the frame of the apparatus, and this guide wheel guides the apparatus in correct relation to a pavement groove.

The apparatus is guided in its movement by means of a handle including two rods 50 extending into two tubes or guides 52 mounted on the frame of the apparatus and rods `50 are thus removably secured to the frame. The upper ends of the rods 50 may be connected by the usual cross bar 53.

The sealing material, which may be of the type illustrated in Pat. No. 3,179,026, is generally delivered by the manufacturer in cartons containing a large reel or drum, usually made with cardboard sides and a cylinder which has an opening through which the inner end of the strip of sealing material extends. This drum may be mounted directly on the apparatus, and for this purpose a pair of supporting posts are provided which are rigidly secured to the frame of the apparatus at opposite sides thereof. These posts preferably extend into sockets 59. These supporting posts are spaced apart sufficiently to permit the drum to be placed between them and support a shaft 61 on which a drum may be rotatably mounted. `Since the material of which these drums are generally made is not of sufficient strength to support the drums on the shaft 61, I provide this shaft with metal disks 64 having spikes or prongs 65 thereon which may be driven into the end walls 66 of the drum from which the sealing material is delivered after the shaft has been inserted approximately into the center of the drum. The end walls of this dr-nm are connected by a cylindrical body 67 on which the sealing material 70 is wound. After the disks 64 have been secured to the end walls 66 of the drum, the shaft is then positioned on bearing supports 62 at the upper ends of the supporting posts 60.

The sealing member 70 is led downwardly from the reel or drum on which it is wound, between a pair of guide rolls and then through a hole 86 in the plate 10 of the frame. The sealing member then passes through a tubular guide member 87 which is supported from the frame member 12 by means of brackets 88. The guide member 87 directs the sealing member between the converging portions of two compression disks 90 and 91 which are inclined relatively to each other so that they converge at their lower paths of travel. The sealing member is inserted between the disks at a distance above their lower paths of travel so that upon further travel of the disks with the sealing member between them, the sealing member will be compressed by movement of the sides of this member toward each other as the surfaces of the compression disks move toward each other, due to their inclinations. Preferably the inner surfaces of the compression disks are roughened so that they rmly grip the sealing member when it is fed between them, and the sides of the guide member are removed at the portion thereof which extends between the compression disks.

The compression disks 90 and 91 are driven by and mounted on the shaft 38, as shown in FIG. 5, but each disk rotates at an angle to the axis of the shaft. This is accomplished by means of gearing connecting the shaft with the compression disks. For this purpose there is provided for each disk a gear 95 having a hub 96 rigidly secured to the shaft 38, for example by set screws 97. The gears 95 are of the face types having radial teeth. Each gear 95 meshes with another gear 98 secured to its compression disk. The gears 98 both extend at an angle to the shaft 38 and to the gears 95. These gears are of the miter type having radial teeth and present a conical face at right angles to their axes of rotation. These gears 95 and 98 are arranged in such a manner relatively to each other that the teeth of the gears 98 mesh with the teeth of the gears 95 only at their yupper portions of their path of travel and the gears 98 are of larger diameter than the gears 95. The teeth of these gears will mesh correctly even though the gears are of different diameters and inclined to each other. The gears 98 may be secured to the compression disks 90 and 91 in any suitable manner, for example, by means of rivets 99.

In order to enable the gears 98 to rotate about the shaft 38 while arranged at an angle thereto, I have provided self-aligning ball bearings 101, the inner races of which may be secured in fixed relation to the shaft, and the outer races of which are suitably secured to the gears 98 in any desired manner, for example, the gears may have near their inner edges inwardly extending flanges 100 which bear against the outer races of the ball bearings.

I have also provided on the shaft, preferably integral therewith, collars or shoulders 103. These collars or shoulders cooperate with the self-aligning ball bearings to hold them against movement lengthwise of the shaft, which would permit the gears 98 to move lengthwise of the shaft out of mesh with the teeth of the gears 95. Consequently it will be obvious that by providing the gears which connect the shaft with the compression disks, as described, and by providing self-aligning bearings for the disks 90 and 91, the compression disks may be arranged in ang-ular relation to each other so that a seal 70, when fed between the compression disks can be compressed laterally in such a manner that the part of the seal in close proximity to the lower portions of the disks may be reduced to a width slightly less than the width of the groove or cavity 46 into which the seal is to be deposited.

When the sealing member is in the lowest portion of the path of travel of the disks, as shown in FIG. 5, the sealing member 70 is forced downwardly out of engagement with the sides of the two compression disks and into the groove 46, and this may be done by means of an insertion wheel 106 which extends between the two compression disks 90 and 91 in position to engage the upper surface of the sealing member. The insertion wheel 106 is located rearwardly with reference to the compression disks, as shown in FIGS. l and 3, and moves the sealing member downwardly out of engagement with the compression disks and into the pavement groove 46 to the desired depth. For this purpose the lower edges of the two compression disks are so positioned as to enter to a slight extent into the groove 46 so that the sealing member when released from the compression disks enters directly into the groove without expanding above the groove before being forced into the groove by the inserting member.

This insertion wheel 106 is mounted to rotate at the insertion ends of a pair of arms of a bearing fork 108 slidably mounted in a tubular guide member 109 secured to the plate 14 of the frame of the machine. This bearing fork has secured thereto a collar 110, and a spring 111 is arranged between the collar 110 and the tubular guide member 109. The spring 111 consequently urges the inserting wheel 106 toward the sealing member 70, and the extent to which the inserting member may extend into the groove 46 is controlled by means of a nut 112 engaging the threaded upper end of the bearing fork 108. Consequently the inserting wheel removes the sealing member from the frictional hold within the two compression disks 90 and 91 into the groove 46 and ensures the proper positioning of the sealing member at the desired depth within the pavement groove.

I have also provided means for controlling the angular position of the two compression disks 90 and 91 relatively to each other and to their gears, and in the construction shown for this purpose I have provided on the upper part of the path of movement of the compression disks a pair of spacing rollers 115 rotatably mounted on a bracket 116. The rollers 115 are mounted in angular relation to the bracket 116 so as to enter between the inner surfaces of the upper diverging portions of the compression disks 90 and 91, and hold them against movement toward each other, due to the pressure on the lower portions of the disks by the sealing member. These rollers also hold the compression disks and their gears in spaced relation to each other so that the teeth of each pair of gears remain in mesh.

The bracket 116 which supports the two spacing rollers may be mounted on the removable plate 14 or other part of the frame of the apparatus in any suitable manner so that the rollers may be adjusted to a slight extent toward and from the axes of rotation of the two compression disks 90 and 91. This bracket 11'6 may be adjustably arranged in a drum or cylinder 118 suitably mounted on the plate 14, and the bracket is preferably threaded. Two nuts 120 and 122 are provided at opposite ends of the cylinder 11-8, and by adjusting these nuts the spacing rollers 115 may be moved to a limited extent toward and from the center of rotation of the two compression disks. This adjustment will result in the spacing of the compression disks so that the lower portions of these disks may be moved relatively to each other to accommodate sealing members 70 of different widths to operate in pavement grooves of different widths. This adjustment of the disks is so slight that it does not interfere with the meshing of the gears 95 and 98.

There is also provided a tank or reservoir for containing liquid to be supplied to the groove in the pavement to act as a lubricant to facilitate the insertion of the seal in the groove, and this liquid also forms an adhesive or cement which secures the sealing members to the sides of the groove. For this purpose the tank 125 is mounted on the frame of the apparatus and this tank may be supplied with pressure from the air compressor 26, for example, through a pipe 128. Liquid may be withdrawn from the tank through a pipe which terminates in the pavement groove 46, a short distance in advance of the compression disks `90 and 91. Any other means for supplying this type of liquid to the apparatus may be provided if desired.

It is desirable in transporting the apparatus from one position to another to avoid having the insertion wheel bear on the pavement or other surface on which the apparatus is moved. For this purpose the plate 14 is removably mounted on the plate 10, for example, by means of shoulders formed by metal strips 129 secured to the underface of the plate 10 and on which the removable plate 14 rests. Suitable means are also provided for engaging the upper face of the removable plate, such as locking bolts 131, to hold the removable plate in correct position during the operation of the apparatus. When it is desired to lift the insertion wheel from its operative position, the removable plate 1-4 is removed and it can then be reseated upside down on the strips 129 so that the apparatus can be moved over a concrete pavement or other surface without having the insertion wheel damaged. While I have shown both compression disks operating at an angle to the shaft 38, it will be obvious that it is only necessary for one compression wheel to operate in this manner, while the other -compression wheel cooperating therewith may rotate about the axis of the shaft 38.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim: 1. Apparatus for inserting elastomeric sealing material in strip form into grooves in pavements, comprising:

a carriage movable on the surface of the pavement over a groove; a linear, rotatable drive shaft mounted on said carriage; a pair of rotatable compression disks; means for feeding a supply of sealing material between said disks; means mounting said compression disks on said shaft including bearing means mounted on said shaft, a pair of gears mounted on said bearing means, and said compression disks mounted on said gears; means spaced radially outwardly of said gears engaging said compression disks for effecting inclination of said disks relative to said shaft whereby the lower paths of travel of said disks are in proximity to each other for compressing said sealing material fed therebetween; and a pair of drive gears mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith and engageable with said lirst mentioned gears for imparting rotation thereto. 2. Apparatus acording to claim 1 wherein said disks engaging means comprise a pair of spaced rollers.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including means for moving said spaced rollers radially to vary the angular orientation of said disks relative to each other.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 including means for inserting said compressed sealing material discharged from between said compression disks into said groove.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said inserting means comprises a wheel rotatably mounted on an axis disposed rearwardly of the compression disks axes.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4 including a plate reversibly mounted on said carriage for carrying said inserting means in both an operative and an inoperative position.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said first mentioned pair of gears are of the miter type and said drive gears are of the face type.

8. Apparatus for inserting elastomeric sealing material in strip form into grooves in pavement, comprising:

a carriage movable on the surface of the pavement over a groove;

a pair of rotatable compression disks mounted on said carriage and inclined toward each other with their lower paths of travel in proximity to each other for compressing sealing material;

means for feeding a supply of sealing material between said disks;

spacing rollers arranged between the upper spaced apart parts of said compression disks for holding the lower portions of said compression disks in spaced relation to each other; and

means for adjusting said spacing rollers toward and away from the axes of said compression disks to arrange said disks in different angular relations to each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,368,465 2/1968 Tonjes 94-39 3,466,988 9/1969 Sharpe 94-39 3,478,655 ll/ 1969 Rasmussen 94-39 JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner 

